4 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This is an omnibus protocol for studying patients with cystic fibrosis. The main purpose of the study is to obtain samples and data collected during standard clinical care for future research to expand knowledge of the natural history, clinical manifestations (phenotypes) and the genetic variants (genotypes) of cystic fibrosis....
Objective: The investigators propose to perform ektacytometry on 20 pediatric patients over age one with cholestatic liver diseases and a direct bilirubin level of greater than 2 gm/dl. The most common diagnoses will be extrahepatic biliary atresia, progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis, Alagille syndrome, autoimmune hepatitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis. The investigators will correlate the osmotic fragility and deformability with direct bilirubin levels, serum cholesterol levels, serum bile acid levels, and vitamin E levels. Design/Methods: This pilot study will be a single center, prospective cross-sectional investigation of red blood cell ektacytometry in pediatric patients with extrahepatic cholestasis who are followed at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. The study will include all participants with cholestasis regardless of the etiology in order to maximize the number of participants. While the population will be heterogeneous, the investigators will stratify participants according to diagnosis, recognizing that only a few participants may fall into each diagnostic category. Ektacytometry will be the method utilized to measure osmotic fragility and deformability of the RBC membrane. The ektacytometry of red cells from cholestatic patients will be compared to that of red cells obtained from contemporaneous age-matched controls recruited among patients without liver disease or red cell membrane defects undergoing blood sampling for evaluation of other entities including but not confined to functional abdominal pain.
Congenital Portosystemic Shunt (CPSS) is a rare condition important by the multiplicity and severity of associated complications. CPSS is venous anomaly in which blood coming from the intestines only partially passes through the liver. This leads to the accumulation of potentially toxic factors that cause systemic effects. Complications vary among the individuals, and currently, it is challenging to predict which individuals will develop severe complications. The IRCPSS registry is established with the aim of centralizing detailed clinical follow-up and biological information from participants around the world who suffer from Congenital Portosystemic Shunt (CPSS). A multidisciplinary consortium of experts is collaborating to enhance our understanding of the prevalence, natural history, individual risks, and physiopathology of the disease through the IRCPSS registry.
This study will evaluate patients ciliopathies. People with ciliopathies develop fibrocystic disease of the kidneys and liver, retinal degeneration, obesity, structural and functional defects of the central nervous system and the eyes, abnormal bone growth, abnormal sidedness of internal organs and polydactyly. The goal of the study is to better understand the medical complications of these disorders and identify characteristics that can help in the design of new treatments.